Saturday, September 5, 2015

Why CCP Won't Fix Nullsec

Much has been written about how the number of EVE players has gone into a nosedive. It is said that EVE is in decline. (We can't say EVE is "dying", because that is an easily mocked cliché. It's harder to argue against the idea that EVE is in decline.) I'd like to take this opportunity to write a few words on the subject.

The source of EVE's woes can be easily pinpointed: Historically, EVE's health, whether it be good or bad, has been determined by the state of nullsec. Though most EVE characters do not reside there, nullsec drives the game's action, stories, and media coverage. To ensure EVE's success, CCP's primary responsibility must be to keep nullsec's population healthy and in the fight. That is, fighting with each other, not with CCP.

Nullsec is in rough shape. That's why the most interesting stories to come out of EVE over the last few years have been driven by the New Order of Highsec. The EVE community is obsessed with us because there's not much else going on. So what went wrong with nullsec, and why won't CCP fix it? Read on! You're only three paragraphs in!

To keep nullsec interesting, CCP must give players a reason to go there, and a reason to fight. If at all possible, the process of fighting over sovereignty shouldn't be broken and boring. Regardless of the sov system, nullsec needs to offer rewards that attract players away from empire space. This is a challenge for two reasons: Highsec offers safety in the form of CONCORD, and it's extremely convenient to do business there. Nullsec's attractions need to overcome these factors.

In years past, players lived in nullsec and made their money there. But CCP noticed that most EVE characters were in highsec, so they began to prioritize highsec dwellers' concerns. CCP continually increased the amount of money to be made in highsec. CCP chose not to balance the increased rewards with increased risks. Instead, they did the opposite. With nerf after nerf to highsec aggression, they lowered the risks associated with highsec life, further skewing the risk/reward balance.

Consequently, PvE'ers moved out of nullsec and into highsec alts. Gone was the traditional stigma associated with highsec money-making. Before, nullsec sov holders considered making money in highsec to be almost shameful. And when their space was threatened, even by small gangs who disrupted their mining and ratting, the nullsec PvE crowd fought to defend themselves. If their sovereignty was at risk, they fought tooth and nail to keep it. If they lost their corner of nullsec, alliances would often dissolve entirely.

Because of CCP's actions, the lower-level targets left nullsec, leaving behind a vacuum in the PvP food chain. On a macro level, fights over sovereignty had much lower stakes. Why bother to defend your space--or even worry about it--when you make all your money in highsec anyway?

I've said all this before, of course. Highsec money and safety have both increased over the years, much to the overall galaxy's detriment. The factor I have focused on less is the convenience of highsec life. The reason I haven't criticized it is readily apparent: CCP has much less control over it. There's not much CCP can do about the fact that highsec dwellers live close to the big trade hubs and can buy or sell whatever they want within a few jumps. It's a very big deal, but not something that CCP can nerf. And they certainly wouldn't exacerbate the problem.

Enter the recent nullsec "fixes".

CCP's system of nullsec reform had a few objectives in mind. They wanted to break up the big coalitions, they wanted people to live in their space, and they wanted people to fight each other for it again.

There are basically two ways for a game developer to get players to do something: Carrots and sticks. The nullsec changes have been criticized for being too much stick and no carrot. Partly the new six-week development cycle is to blame for this. Rather than having a big, juicy, content-filled expansion to get people excited about the game, CCP created, well, the opposite. Expansions come in the form of tiny little patches which may or may not include content. Features may be half-baked or unbalanced, but they must be released. Anything to meet the six-week deadline. The nullsec overhaul has therefore come in pieces, with the sticks being front-loaded, apparently.

First came the great jump drive nerf. There were good arguments for removing the ability of caps and supercaps to teleport. After all, big ships should be slower than small ships, not infinitely faster. Nevertheless, CCP's objective was not merely to re-balance ships, but instead to dramatically nerf travel and logistics overall. All forms of jump drives were affected. They felt this would break up the big coalitions. Regardless of the motives and merits of this decision, the effect was a tremendous nerf to nullsec. It made it much more difficult to live and make money in nullsec.

Or to put it another way, it made nullsec life less convenient. Ah, there's that word again. By its very nature, highsec is much more convenient than nullsec, but the jump drive nerf forced this difference into a much sharper contrast. More reason to make your money in highsec instead of living out in the boondocks of nullsec. And if you want PvP, why not go to lowsec or wormholes? It's much closer than nullsec.

Another nullsec stick came in the form of FozzieSov. There were many things CCP wanted to achieve with the new system. From a game design standpoint, one of the most important things they wanted to do was to make it easier to contest sovereignty. Their reluctance to curb the infamous "trollceptor" hints at this. They wanted it to be possible for a handful of players to cause trouble, even if they didn't really intend to take a system over. The idea: "If you want to keep things running smoothly, you'd better live in your space and defend it constantly." Another stick.

Once more, regardless of the system's merits, the effect was to make nullsec life more difficult. The idea of owning a system is less enticing if you have to work harder to defend it. Under the new sov system, you'll probably need to deal with more hassles and headaches. It is, in other words, less convenient.

There's supposed to be some version of the destructible outposts idea in the works, as well. Same effect. It's a lot easier to live in nullsec when all your stuff can't be incinerated. More incentive to at least park all of your important possessions in lowsec. Which, in turn, makes nullsec life even more inconvenient.

What about the carrots? CCP has tinkered with nullsec rewards, but has basically done nothing. Over the years, whenever I've argued in favor of buffing nullsec, I have said that highsec rewards and safety must be nerfed, too. How much more would nullsec PvE need to pay, to get all the PvE'ers to abandon their highsec alts and do their isk-grinding in null? Too much. It's almost impossible to overcome the benefits of highsec safety and convenience otherwise.

Even if CCP were open to the possibility of supercharging highsec PvE, the current state of nullsec makes them too afraid of the consequences. The changes they introduced were supposed to break up the big coalitions, as I've said. The biggest of the big coalitions is, of course, the Imperium. Unfortunately, the very organizational capability that makes the Imperium so big also made it the best able to weather the storms of the recent nullsec changes. Some of the Imperium's most significant competitors of have collapsed or moved to lowsec. The Imperium is still dominant, and is arguably in an even more dominant position than it was before the changes came. CCP may fear that boosting nullsec revenues would be too beneficial to the Imperium; they may feel that the hoped-for coalition breakup needs to occur first.

What about the lure of PvP? In theory, FozzieSov was supposed to provide this, by generating more content. The problem is that for nullsec PvP to function, you need to restore the PvP food chain. That begins with drawing PvE'ers into nullsec and boosting the benefits of owning the space that you want players to fight over. Otherwise, it's just RvB in 0.0 space. Some might like that, but even those players would find it easier and more convenient to look for fights in lowsec. This group includes, incidentally, some of the PvP'ers who would otherwise be in nullsec challenging the Imperium's power.

As reluctant as CCP is to meaningfully buff nullsec rewards, it's even more reluctant to meaningfully nerf highsec. Years ago, when player numbers were twice (or more) what they are now, CCP was afraid to anger the highsec carebears. There were too many players living in highsec to alienate them with a bunch of highsec nerfs. Now that EVE's subscription numbers have fallen dangerously low, will CCP be any more willing to anger what's left of their playerbase?

CCP has therefore painted itself into a corner. They have massively buffed the rewards and safety of highsec. By drastically lowering the convenience and desirability of nullsec, they have effectively "buffed" highsec again by magnifying its convenience factor even more. The only way to fix this is to catastrophically nerf highsec and buff nullsec, which they will never do, especially not now.

Now, you all know that I'm an optimist, so I'll leave things on an optimistic note. As the democratically elected leader of highsec, I, on behalf of everyone who ever makes use of highsec, urge CCP to nerf highsec. Put aside any concerns about angry carebears. I represent their interests better than they ever could. I'm giving you the green light to nerf highsec until it hurts, until the carebears scream in agony.

In addition, I would suggest that CCP strongly consider the possibility of granting me full veto power over all of their past, present, and future game design decisions.

It wouldn't make things any worse, would it?

48 comments:

  1. "In addition, I would suggest that CCP strongly consider the possibility of granting me full veto power over all of their past, present, and future game design decisions."

    I support this.

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    1. I already defer to the Savior's judgement when it come to my day to day decisions, he even has my power of attorney.

      -Oink

      Delete
  2. James 315, you should apply for a job as lead designer, or something more fancy, at CCP. You are more than they deserve, but damn do they need it...

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  3. Null-sec has the best: Ratting, Mining, PI, MoonGoo, Industry, Exploration and Incursions.

    Lets not play the 'God, isn't null-sec terrible' game. Null-sec has 99% of the best income in the game.

    Desirable? The existence and numbers of the CFC/Imperium are evidence enough.

    If you want to create a healthy null-sec, figure out a solution that doesn't involve making null-sec the only game in town. People don't like null-sec because of the culture, not just the 'inconvenience' which you have overstated.

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    1. i live in null and love it F*C*K high sec.

      Delete
    2. Try living there. Or maybe the culture is to cultural for you? Prefer to fleece a bunch of carebears with your Indy corp? Now thats class.
      But you're in luck! All highsec culture issues with can be cured by compliance with the Code. If only we in nullsec had a such a guide to proper behavior, lol

      Delete
    3. I live in low-sec, so I've no worries about compliance or non-compliance with the supposed 'saviour', or with toxic cultures. So yeah, take your misguided accusations elsewhere, please. :),

      I've 'lived' in null-sec for a month or two. Being told when to undock, when to blue-ball, when to log in and log out.... Not my idea of fun, really.

      Delete
    4. Rob Kaichin, people. Another hisec carebear that has 'lived' in nullsec (for all of 15 days) afraid to undock and create content. Now he bitches and whines like an entitled hisec dweller. 'Dont mess with my hisec' he whines. ' i dont likee the culture'.
      Boo hoo bitch, there should be no reward without risk, and the 'best' ratting he speaks of also has more risk than any activity in hisec, even afk hauling through Uedama.
      We need more than a few nerfs in hisec. But more than anything, hisec must not be thought of as safe-sec by noobs and the risk adverse like Rob.
      People who just want to be left alone should realize that WoW is that way -->

      Delete
    5. Character: Rob Kaichin
      Corporation: Empire Assault Corp
      Alliance: Dead Terrorists

      https://beta.eve-kill.net/character/93148492/

      Please, argue with facts, not delusions. :)

      Delete
    6. Love lowsec pubbie tears rob - keep them up

      Delete
    7. Read whatever you wish :). (These other people seem to.)

      I'm enjoying myself, and that's the only thing that matters to me.

      Delete
    8. Rob, you lack a basic grasp of how null sec actually works. Simply saying that null sec anoms pay more isk than high sec demonstrates this.
      It doesn't matter how much a null sec anom pays out- if a single AFK'er in a cloaked ship can essentially shut down your entire ratting system, it is a far less profitable place than high sec. Now that we've been forced into much smaller holdings, we don't even have other systems to go to avoiding those hostiles. You also fail to understand that loot or resources need to be moved to markets for them to hold any value- otherwise they are just useless pixels in your hangar. The nerfs to mobility make it far more dangerous and expensive to move anything out of null, severely nerfing the increased reward factor. You can crow on about moon goo all you want- but if I can't get it to you in a high sec market, it's useless to bother mining it. CCP has recognized this and aimed for more local production in null- but so far hasn't actually done anything to increase it.
      James is correct that many of the richest null sec players make their money with high sec alts. It is also telling that the most blinged out ships and pods always appear in high sec. If null sec is so much better than high sec as you allege, why are there so many 3 month old toons flying around high sec losing billions worth of ships and implants? You are simply wrong on this issue, and the proof is evidenced in every Kills of the Week here, or ALOD on TMC.
      If null sec was the fountain of isk you seem to think it is- why then are so many alliances already heavily invested in sov, simply walking away in favor of low or high sec? The answer is exactly what James said- it is far far easier to get rich essentially squatting in newbie space, doing newbie content forever rather than progress within the game. Sov was already a lot of work to own- it's an incredible time sink (I'm guessing you don't run a string of POS's across a constellation) and we won all that space because we actually showed up, often for oh-dark-thirty timers, sat thru the structure grinds, and dropped everything to log in for ragepings. It was on the verge of not being worth it- but we were building enormous empires as the reward.
      CCP basically used dev hacks to take all that time, effort, and organization away from us. The reward of winning at Eve was stolen without any clear reason why (so a pack of nobodies and their alts can play at sov without having to actually work for it?) and we are left with the current situation.
      Not only is sov losing it's key players- the groups that created content for thousands of players- but more importantly, they are not being replaced. If it is such a pain in the ass to own sov for the people that already own it, that they quit- it is delusional to think anyone less invested will bother to get into it and deal with the headache. Especially when they can just squat in high sec and get far richer.
      This is CCP's fundamental flaw. They seem to think that by chasing the coalitions out of sov, that suddenly all those care bears in high sec will quit being care bears and rush out to fight over a flag in null sec. That is also delusional, and in fact is evidenced currently.
      The Imperium was literally giving away sov for months, and there was no mass exodus out of high sec to take it. High sec is too buffed, and null sec too nerfed for anyone to leave the cushy life of high sec- EVEN FOR FREE SOV. Not rental- we simply gave away sov systems to any takers that weren't already red to us.
      It has nothing to do with far fetched nonsense about 'culture' (just an excuse, dude) and everything to do with the fact that care bears understand exactly this broken system. The fact is that care bears understand the dynamics of Eve just fine- and they know that they will be richer and safer in high sec, literally never going more than a couple jumps from where their characters spawned. That is a broken system, plain and simple.

      Delete
  4. I can't help but think that James didn't write this post. Call me crazy, but this just wasn't James-esque.

    v0v

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  5. I find myself mostly agreeing with Jimmy Boy on this one, except two points:

    1. He elected himself as ruler of highsec...which means that he appointed himself.

    2. Give Jimmy Hoffa 315 veto power over all past present and future features? I don't think so. If that happened, not only would highsec become non-functional, the last of the carebears would leave the game. That includes all the miners. No miners, no ships.

    Kinda reminds me why code was formed in the first place: Market Manipulation. They wanted to drive the price of moongoo to astronomic heights so they started with the highsec ice systems. You gotta have a pos to mine a moon and ice mining provides some very important components for the pos fuel blocks.

    I have lived in null, and convenience is a big deal there...as living in null is not convenient at all. There are no real trade hubs, you have to deal with gate camps, and people looking for fights. Unless you have a ship that can use a covert ops cloaking device, you can't really get from one place to another without someone trying to kill you.

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    1. Ah, I see that my anonymous stalker is here. You think I actually care what you say?

      BWHAHAHAHA.

      In actuality, I think that you are the pedophile, since you keep bringing it up here. As for my opinion, I'm going to keep posting it, since it seems to piss you off so much. I'm laughing at you. So go ahead and keep responding with your impotent rage at the keyboard, because that's all that you can do.

      +25 points for a pissed off response.

      And to disprove your accusation that I am the fake Butthurt Miner, I leave this little tidbit for you:

      We all know Jimmy the Butt Fungus Picker is a cannibal. After all, he commands all his agents to get the corpses of those he kills so he can eat them to fuel his weird glowing ass. Just look at what he did to your mom when she fell victim to their unholy wrath.

      You have to understand, he needs to keep eating corpses, otherwise his glowing ass will turn into a black hole which will suck everything in...including Sasha Nyemtsov's really narly dick.

      This is another quality trollific post from your friends at Carebears
      United
      .

      We are many. We are strong. The code will fall. The code will fail. A free highsec is worth fighting for. Saving highsec from the savior of highsec, one carebear at a time.

      Delete
    2. You obviously care enough to write so many words. Classic BM fail.

      Delete
  6. Just going to agree with this wholeheartedly. I've said the same myself, many times.

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  7. Well said, James 315!

    Your ability to summarise a complex issue and to present it in clear and direct terms is just one of the reasons for my sense of relief when you post an article like this.

    I no longer need to trawl through the half-baked outpourings of a dozen or more self-styled analysts, or the hopelessly scattered ejaculations of semi-pro commentators. It's all here, in wonderful prose.

    There's a good reason why James is often not the first-out-of-the-gate knee-jerk blogger-type. If you read this blog daily you'll know that some at least of what he's written here has either appeared before, in the longer pieces, or been squeezed in as an aside in the short narratives. Thus, a well-considered and closely argued essay which is entirely consistent with his past position.

    Do I need to say that I agree with every word of the above? Probably not.

    Do I need to say that my hand is already reaching out for the mic? Certainly not!

    Well done James.

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  8. James is exactly right. Eve had a clear progression intended. You began in high sec, then low sec, then null/WH. Sov being the end game, actually creating an empire to rival the NPC empires. The risk and rewards were supposed to follow. But CCP has so broken that ladder that it's better to stay in the lowest risk zone than progress in the game.
    People say 'stagnation' when they mention Sov. The real stagnation killing Eve is the total lack of progression beyond entry level content.
    I may make fun of high sec, but the truth is those players have figured Eve out until it's little more than a calculator with a graphics card requirement. They know how to get rich and never leave a .8 system.
    Only in Eve can you basically just squat in newbie space doing newbie content and yet not only succeed, but vastly out perform end game content! It's broken. We're at a point where success in Eve means just grinding essentially trial account level content .0001% more efficiently than last time. Those are the richest players in the game- not Sov owners. Look at all the billion isk ships blown up in high sec by CODE. All the billion isk implant collections they melt. Most sov players spend less on a capital ship than high sec care bears spend to knock 20 seconds off a mission.
    That is simply a broken system.

    ReplyDelete
  9. TL;DR at the bottom of message 2.

    I cant say i agree whatsoever, to the point that some things you say pissed me off greatly. Even though i prefer to be in nullsec myself all the way, the stuff you write here will just makes things worse.

    What pisses me off the most is probably the line of reasoning sounding like "I think nullsec is the best, and should be the best, but why havent CCP made it so people that dont like it HAVE to go out there yet? We keep ganking them in high-sec and still they dont come out to play with us, so we just have to keep attacking them until they do, so make it easier to gank people that dont like pvp in high-sec plz." ... Instead of just going out yourselves to null and fight there and leave the people that dont want to alone? I just dont even..

    Point 1:
    I have played EVE since it came out, in all venues of space, with all kinds of people, and i doubt that its declining or whatever because they have made highsec profitable or something like that. I think its declining because while the game itself is cool and can give great enjoyment, it's probably just grown to be too much of a hassle to do anything really for the average mmo-player. That, and a few heavy blows to the community by the GMs cheating and other strange happenings.

    Considering its usually more expensive per month than other MMO:s (many of which are free) and also definitely more difficult to get into as a new player, not only because the menus and tutorial does a crap job at teaching new players anything at all, but also because the game basicly tells you "You wont be able to do anything really effectively for about 4 months no matter which route you go. And if you choose wrong, you need a few months more for the next thing you want to try". It's a game that wants you to invest your soul just be able to play the game.

    Its been like that from the start, but its worse now. It's a game whose combat system only feels fun for the most hardcore of min/max-number-anal-PVP-obsessed kind of players of us out there, and its a more limited number of people than you might think. The hassle of an actual-real-world-work-level of time involved in industry and trading is fun for some, but for most people its just as fun as managing the client database on your weekday job or poking around in an excel sheet, which also doesnt invoke a very fun aura about it. And fun being what people are searching for, the easier they can get it the more interesting it is, which in this case is not so much.

    That doesnt really make new players want to keep playing after they see the initial wall they have to climb. Also, a carebear newbie having gathered his first ~500m through hard work over a few months in high-sec and thinking "Fuck yes!" just to get whatever they buy next blown up in high-sec from random gankers because the game just rewards assholery in any way possible towards people that know less, doesnt make them very eager to keep playing either, so that i know for a fact has been decreasing the player base from several real world examples back over 10 years ago.

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    1. Point 2:
      I think it has stagnated because of quite the opposite reason you do. Right now its like you get picked on for liking PVE or being in safe space wanting to do some mindnumbing mining or whatever, getting seen as a bad, weak person of inferior worth for not wanting to shoot other players in the otherwise only immersive spaceship MMO around and thus bring in all kinds of people liking that kind of genre.

      Null is THE PLACE to be for people like you and me, but it doesnt have to be for everyone. It's just some kind of bullying of people for liking different things. If they dont like null/lowsec and you basicly take away high-sec from them, then they will just stop playing and it wont benefit anyone. They have no obligation to play this game if the way they play dissapear. And the game is punishing enough already for those kind of people no matter where you are without succumbing to the RNG of high-sec gankers getting bored and just going on a shooting spree.

      Also, who are you to tell people that they cant do PVE/Trading/Wanking in high-sec if they so feel like because its actually profitable, just that you dont want them to because its not your favourite way? Its not like everyone that plays this game does it ultimately for pvp and the excitement of being in unsafe space and that the isk-making is just a means to afford pvp. And it shouldnt have to be. They fill a vital role in the whole ecosystem. Why is it profitable? Why because we in null that do PVP and need to trade more resources, ships, modules and whatnot are reliable on them making it for us because we are so busy PVPing that we dont want to do it ourselves. And we also want the comfort of having established tradehubs, instead of having to scurry around half of nullsec just to get some module you didnt have enough of for your new HAC build.

      And i get the "emergent gameplay" idea of ganking, being pirates and all, but i think the logic behind it is just so fucking stupid especially when it comes to how unsafe you are in highsec. Compare it to real life with like hyperdunking. A moneytransport being chased by a car shooting at it. The police can magicly shut down the car instantly once they see the car is shooting, but then they dont give a fuck if the same people come back with another car basicly going "Good morning" until that same person starts shooting that moneytransport again. Queue like 20 Wolkswagen Beetles later and that transport is destroyed, and the police once again goes "Good morning" to the people that has been shooting at it all this time when they go to pick up the cash from the burning wreck just next to them. Thats just... i dont know, i like logic and thats just not it...

      But no, apparently its the average players fault for not doing what they dont want to do in a place they dont want to be, so you want to make it as fucking uncomfortable as possible for them, so you can enjoy the part YOU like about the game even more. Thats just some maniacal ego right there. Why should it even be part of your choice to say that the way they play isnt "good" just because they enjoy sitting in a station playing with numbers?

      TL;DR
      Nerf random-PVP and remove ganking completely in high-sec. Gankers will move out to nullsec, pewing at each other, you can go back out there as well and have fun fighting with people that actually wants to fight with you for fun, instead of just griefing in high-sec. Oh what a sacrifice you are doing now, truly. *sarcasm overload*

      New players will influx, carebears will carebear, as the ratio of carebearing-industrials vs null-pvpers get skewered, more people will go out to seek riches and adventures in null. Overall playerbase and therefore also pvp targets in null will increase overall.

      Then you can just get your ass back out to null and try to take some space instead of playing around with targets that cant shoot back in high-sec if you hate it so damn much!

      Delete
    2. Why 0.0 and not lowsec?

      0.0 is actually the same as highsec with plenty of carebears in both.
      So more 0.0 would not solve anything as the carebears would be living in rental space instead.
      The only thing that would change is that new order would have no content:P

      Delete
    3. Wrong, anon306
      In low you have gate guns.
      Remove all npc interference.
      Make all of EvE operate on null mechanics.
      Screw carebear retention.
      Make combat pilots out of them, or destroy them. No more coddling.

      Delete
    4. Dear Anon 12:04 and 12:05, is English your first language? I only ask because that giant wall of text above is completely incoherent. I honestly can't follow it, except to pick up a few typical carebear talking points.

      In fact, even if English is a second language to you, you should still feel ashamed of this final paragraph:

      "Then you can just get your ass back out to null and try to take some space instead of playing around with targets that cant shoot back in high-sec if you hate it so damn much!"


      -Galaxy Pig

      Delete
    5. My god that is an epic wall of tears

      Delete
  10. "Make all space 0.0 and that will fix EvE. "

    Yes, no more new player will fix EvE LoL

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    1. Not all new players in ed hisec. In fact, no one needs hisec. Only the carebear afk-ers that want to turn EvE into a themepark shithole need hisec. Everyone else can join a null entity on day one and during that first day, learn more than the afk carebears will learn in a month of hisec play.
      Anon226 is just another dipshit that thinks you need to protect new EvE players for a few decades before gently pushing them into null. That is BS.
      All a newb needs is the understanding that EvE is not WoW, and the ability to lose ships in a ship shooting game.
      Fukin crybears have been trying to ruin EvE for the real players since it's inception.
      Get the fuk out

      Delete
    2. Think a moment instead of raging.

      New players with no skill or knowledge of the game, killed reapeteadly will stop the game, All people will react like that. High sec is just a space where you can learn the bases before going down.

      In fact this game are what the players do with it, specialy in 0.0, so if new players don't wan't to come or old players leaves for high it's the fault of the 0.0 players who made the 0.0 suck.

      Delete
    3. I can see what your saying here
      You want EVE to return to the "Core" game
      Theres only one big problem here

      Money
      In order for ccp to do what you say they will have to loose half their subs
      That means they have to sack people etc

      Delete
    4. @Anon 2:26

      High sec is a great place for training ground. New players can spend a few weeks learning the mechanics, learning how to fit and fly, learning what the skills mean and why they should care, and smacking the occasional npc.

      Then, they can join a nullsec alliance where they'll be supported with ship replacement programs and experienced players, and they defend their space and fight and mine and build ships and everything they can do in highsec (with rewards so great they can afford a cruiser after a few minutes work).

      I'm quite sure the point James is making is that you can do all that very low risk in highsec, so there's simply no incentive to go to 0.0, so most people don't. James is saying make the rewards in high sec so pittiful that they're only useful for training, but if you want to actually do anything in the game you have to go into more dangerous areas.

      This isn't about "new players", it's about making it exciting for all players. How many times have you seen miners go "I don't want to watch it mine, it's boring!", they're just addicted to watching isk creep up but it's otherwise pointless.

      So, let's say everyone has to join 0.0 or earn very little in high.. well now everyone can group together. This will lead to more fights, and more excitement for everyone. Anyone who can't handle it can find another MMO which is fine. Highsec dwellers who's only excitement is currently having a 0.05 ISK spike in the price for their ORE will have adrenaline rushes daily. I'm willing to bet the subscriptions would even rise!

      As it is right now, and from what I understand as it's been for a few years, not a huge amount goes on in 0.0. Some skirmeshes, the odd massive battle. But as James said, CODE. are generating far far more content, as evidenced by killboards and EVE-O posts alike.

      Delete
    5. I'm gonna add to my own comment.

      There seems to be this huge thing about protecting "new players" and "CCP's finances". Remember the battle of B-R5RB that involved 7000 players and had damages of 11 trillion ISK (that's 11 million million)?

      The days that followed had tens of thousands of new players. TENS OF THOUSANDS, based purely on and simply on the news coverage of that battle.

      What keeps being suggested for "CCP finances' sake" is that we accomodate the people who want to isk grind for no reason other than to do so and otherwise provide no content. But it's been proven beyond doubt that far more people than currently subscribe LOVE the idea of fighting or being involved in massive battles.

      So why aren't they? I'm not a 0.0 dweller, I'm a low seccer, but it seems from what I read that 0.0 is either boring or alliances just don't want to fight for whatever reason.

      But my main point here is that it's proven that CCP finances do not solely rely on people who press f1 then wonder off for half hour.

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    6. I will have to disagree that 0.0 is boring or no one wants to fight. We used to like fights so big and often that we broke Eve until they invented Space AIDS to stop us.
      As a CFC/Imperium line grunt- I was never without something to do in Eve. Any time of the day or night I would find about a dozen fleets up. Everything from co-op PvE, mining, ganking, small gang roams, gate camps....and even though I am just some unknown grunt- if I was willing to create and lead a fleet, I could get 20-30 people in a few minutes to join. Because we had an SRP- no one cared about losing ships. Even a casual roam could include a pack of shiny Proteus on the prowl.
      We fought NPC null neighbors, roamed low sec in frigates, and oh yeah, also fought 7000 person battles that made news outside the game.
      It wasn't very 'stagnant' to me. Not having constant make-or-break sov wars meant we could do everything else the game has to offer too. I think we did more 'living in our space' before fozziesov. We certainly had no shortage of content going on.

      Delete
  11. New Order= The Imperium
    Therefore this new fozziesov actually threathens the new order


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    1. Holy shit! I've been in the imperium this whole time and didn't even know it! Somebody owes me some of that moon goo money!

      Wait, does this mean I have to know/care about nullsec affairs now? Shit...

      Real quick! I need a crash course! Here's a list of seemingly nullsec-related things that I've heard about, but never bothered to google. Please clarify what they are/do:

      Entosis thingy
      SBUs
      Jump fatigue
      Outposts
      'Plexes
      Elo Knight?

      Thank you.

      -Galaxy Pig

      Delete
  12. A litmus test is before us. If CCP replaces the Sansha incursions with the more risky Drifter incursions in the next few months, we can take heart that CCP is at least going to fight for their original vision of the game. It will show they are working to correct the risk vs. reward imbalance in the game, even if they are relying on NPC-derived risk for highsec. If they choose to let new content languish unrun beside the untouched Sansha ISK farms, it means that it is too late to save the game and the carebears have won. All then we can hope for is a few more years as we continue the slide into stagnation before the experiment that was Eve Online is dead.

    In either case, I will take this opportunity to rededicate myself to the Saviour and the noble goal of saving the game from those that wish to defang our PvP sandbox by pledging to fight until the end. As long as the game code still allows it, I will serve as an agent of risk, rooting out and destroying carebearism in all its insidious forms.

    Long live the New Order of Highsec.

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    Replies
    1. I actually agree with this except for the carebears and new order stuff hehe

      It would also be better if most incursions went on to less highsec and nullsec and more lowsec. This would actually help the Pvp food chain as there would be more content for pirates:)

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    2. Black Pedro, always the voice of reason, who manages to stand out from the braying mob by dint of sense alone...

      Long may you grace our discourses - and curb our carebears!

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    3. Hard-headed carebears are resistant to the hammerblows of reason. One must still try, I suppose.

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    4. Preach it Black Pedro! 'This the end we fight!

      -Oink

      Delete
  13. "Even though I live in null/low sec im going to cry about highsec - even though it doesnt concern me"

    Loving these pubbie tears

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    Replies
    1. I'm confused. I was arguing against James315, and those were 'tears', but arguing in favour of it is also 'tears'. Maybe you misread my comment?

      Delete
  14. Tossing in this too: My recollection is that every time CCP runs studies on what keeps players in the game, they find that it isn't the highsec ganks that make people unsubscribe. Rather, it's the highsec monotony -- the mission running, the mining, the tedium. Carebears keep forgetting that.

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    Replies
    1. CCP keeps forgetting it too. I don't know why they pay for studies if they're going to ignore the results.

      Delete
    2. they dont forget it, they just interpret the results wrong. Boring hisec means to them they need to "improve" hisec instead of giving players the incentive to go to null sec where they get 24/7 content.

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    3. High-sec is boring, but making high-sec less boring is misinterpreting the results?

      I don't see how your logic follows? Please explain :).

      Delete
  15. Sad to see yet another blog trying to make everyone play in the author's style. I'd have though J315 more creative.

    Eve's success lies in appealing to many play styles. Even the carebears, grinding away in relative safety, know they can be ganked any time they undock. The fantasy of playing in one of the most notoriously cut throat games is why they grind in Eve rather than Star Wars Galaxies. All of these cliques are important parts of the larger Eve community.

    Null sec has problems, but the solution is not to force high sec miners to go be targets in null sec. That's not the game they want to play.

    ReplyDelete

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